"Good Tomato Soup"

I know tomato soup isn't one of the top choices for summertime meals, but believe me...you need to try this one. My husband asked for gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner with "good tomato soup"... and this is what I came up with. This soup is so tasty and fresh that you will love it regardless of the temperature outside. You can always omit the seafood and just have 'plain' tomato soup, I promise either way is delicious.

Ingredients
6 TBSP melted butter
1 onion, diced
1 46 oz bottle tomato juice
2 14 oz cans diced tomatoes
3 TBSP chicken base
3 TBSP sugar
pinch of salt
black pepper to taste
1 c cooking sherry (you can sub chicken broth or water if you don't want the alcohol)
1 1/2 c fat free half and half (you can use full heavy cream...but why??)
chopped fresh parsley
chopped fresh basil
Seafood Medley (shrimp, calamari, mussels, or any other seafood) I used about a pound of seafood

Sauté diced onions in butter until translucent. Then add canned tomatoes, tomato juice, chicken base, sugar, pinch of salt, black pepper and stir. Add seafood and bring to a near boil, then turn off heat. (make sure seafood is cooked through)  Add in sherry and cream and stir. Add in parsley and basil to taste.

Ingredients

Seafood Medley from Sam's Club

Saute onion in butter

Ready for seafood

The smell of the fresh parsley and basil was divine!

Dump it in the soup

Enjoy!

Adapted from Pioneer Woman 

Heirloom Tomato Salad

This is a great refreshing tomato recipe, regardless if you use heirloom tomatoes or not. I haven't seem them for sale but I'm probably not looking in the right places, I use the gorgeous red vine ripened ones sold at my local market.

Ingredients
4 tomatoes, sliced
1/4 blue cheese crumbles
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
2 TBSP olive oil
2 TBSP red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
4-5 leaves fresh basil, thinly sliced

Slice tomatoes and onions and place them on a platter, sprinkle basil and blue cheese on top. Mix remaining ingredients in separate bowl and drizzle on top of tomato mixture. Serve immediately.
Serves 4

Ingredients

I used a bowl instead of a platter

Vinegar and Oil mixture

Enjoy!